The Postmaster by Ravindranath Tagore

The Postmaster by  Ravindranath Tagore

In The Postmaster by Rabindranath Tagore we have the theme of loneliness, happiness, gratitude, connection, memories and guilt. Taken from his Collected Stories collection the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that Tagore may be exploring the theme of loneliness. The postmaster finds it unbearably lonely living in the village. He has very little work to do and his mind wanders to the idea that perhaps he should find himself a wife. Despite Ratan being an ideal choice for the postmaster.

                     However despite this the postmaster still does not imagine himself marrying Ratan. It is as though he considers her to be a class beneath him and not fit to be his wife. However the reader is also aware that the postmaster does not have many women coming to visit his home who might be prepared to do the same work as Ratan.

 If anything Ratan shows the postmaster the dedication that a wife would show a husband yet the postmaster is too blind to see this. He is more occupied with his dissatisfaction of having to work so far away from the city. It might also be important that the postmaster is able to speak freely when he is speaking to Ratan. He does not feel emotionally embarrassed when he is talking about his family. Something that he would feel should he speak to the men in the factory about his family. Tagore may be highlighting the differences in conversation between men and women and those between men talking to men. The postmaster is at ease when he discusses his family with Ratan. It is as though she understands the postmaster. Ratan too has memories of her family which she readily shares with the postmaster.

 The end of the story is also interesting as Tagore appears to be exploring the theme of guilt. While on the boat the postmaster thinks about Ratan and thinks about going back to the village to get her. However his thoughts are based more on guilt than on helping Ratan in any way. Something that is noticeable when the sails pick up the wind and the postmaster soon forgets about Ratan. Ratan on the other hand cannot forget about the postmaster. It is as though she has not only lost a friend but she has lost someone she has fallen in love with. Tagore highlighting that it will take some time for Ratan’s wounds to heal and for her to forget about the postmaster. However she will forget about the postmaster and she will grow attached to somebody else. Somebody who might also abandon her. Leaving Ratan to make the same mistakes over and over again. All because she wants to feel connected and loved by another human being. A very normal instinct for anybody to have. However life sometimes does not work out as simply as we would like it to. Though the postmaster might have seen the complications of starting a relationship with Ratan.